Greece: A Short History of a Long Story, 7,000 BCE to the Present

Greece: A Short History of a Long Story, 7000 BCE to the Present , offers readers a comprehensive overview of the history of Greece by exploring the continuity of Greek culture from its Neolithic origins to the modern era. Compressing 9,000 years of Greek history into a concise and accessible format, author Carol G. Thomas explores the ways in which the nature of Greek culture was continually reshaped over time—especially during periods of non–Greek rule by Romans and Ottoman Turks. Utilizing an increasingly popular archaeological approach that focuses on people and the natural environment, Thomas brings various eras of the ancient Greek world vividly to life by telling its story through individual personalities—farmers and philosophers, peasants and politicians, women and men, locals and foreigners alike—who provide revealing and intimate glimpses into the distant past. From the Homeric heroes and the Golden Age of Classical Greece to the Romans, Byzantines, and beyond, Greece: A Short History of a Long Story offers readers a compact and comprehensive overview of Greece and its civilization from prehistory to the present day.

Preface   Acknowledgments   1. Mountains and Sea a. The Physical Character of Greece b. Earliest Inhabitants c. Neolithic Period:  Settled Life in Greece d. Kuria e. Further Reading   2. The Age of Heroes a. The Role of Islands b. The Greek Age of Heroes c. Penelope and Odysseus d. Further Reading   3. End of the Bronze Age:  Slow Reshaping a. The Dark Age b. Archaic Age:  Revival c. Establishing Classical Greece d. Hesiod e. Further Reading   4. The Second Age of Heroes:  Classical Greece a. Mediterranean Impact b. The Golden Age c. Athens’ Rise to Dominance d. Socrates, Citizen of Athens:  Wisest Man in the World? e. Outcome:  The Peloponnesian War f. Fourth Century Greece g. Further Reading   5. Incorporation into a Larger State a. The Northern Neighbor:  Macedon b. Alexander III c. Alexander’s Successors d. The Greatest of Kings:  Philip II e. Further Reading   6. Graecia Capta:  Roman Control a. Roman Administration b. Life in the Province of Achaia c. Polybius:  A Greek Captive Praises Rome d. Further Reading   7. Power Returns to Greece:  The Byzantine Empire a. Separation from Rome b. Restoration of Order c. Decline d. The Byzantine Greek World i. Administration ii. Economic Health iii. Byzantine Culture e. Anna Comnena: Daughter of the Emperor and Historian of Byzantium f. Further Reading   8. Ottoman Greece 1453–1821 a. Ottoman Control of Greece b. Eighteenth Century c. Those Who Said No  i. Theodore Kolokotronis ii. Adamantios Korais iii. Rigas Velestinlis (Pheraios) d. Further Reading   9. Building a New State 1821 – 1935 a. Enter Otto I b. 1862 – 1913 c. Eleftherios Venizelos 1864 – 1936 d. 1923 – 1935 e. Further Reading   10. A Player in the Modern World: 1935 – Present a. Resistance Fighters b. 1944 – 1952 c. 1952 – The Present d. Greece in the New World Order e. Constantine and Costas Karamanlis f. Further Reading   11. Conclusion a. Past and Present b. Further Reading c. Chronology

Carol G. Thomas is Professor of History and Vidalakis Professor of Hellenic Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her publications include Alexander the Great in His World (Wiley–Blackwell 2007), The Trojan War (2005), Finding People in Early Greece (2005), and Citadel to City State: The Transformation of Greece 1200–700 BCE (1999).